Honor of a Hero
by Kylie Anderson
Summary: There's one serial killer, one day, one chance and one hero. One agent will give his life for the lives of others. But will he live? Or die?
1. Random

Honor of a Hero

Chapter 1

Random

1 Serial killer

1 Day

1 Chance

1 Hero

Don Epps sat at his desk quietly. The day seemed to drag on slowly. There weren't any leads in the case and Charlie hadn't been able to find any connects with any of the victims of the latest serial killer.

"Don?" Megan asked gently.

"Yeah?" Don asked slightly aggravated.

"I don't think we're going to find anything tonight. Go home." Megan said quietly.

Don shook his head. "You know I can't sleep until this guy gets caught." Don said.

Megan nodded. "Neither can I, but I still go home. David's gone home. I'm leaving soon too. It'll just be you and Charlie." Megan said. "There's nothing we can do tonight."

Don sighed. "I guess your right." Don said flipping through a file before setting it down.

Meg got up and left. Don sat tapping his pencil. Charlie walked into the room. "Hey, where's everyone?" Charlie asked.

"They all went home." Don answered.

Charlie yawned. "Sorry Don, I can't figure out this connection until I get some dinner." Charlie said grinning.

Don gave him a small smile back. "Alright, let's go." Don said almost reluctantly.

Don gathered a few items and put them in his briefcase. Charlie put his I-pod and all of his homework sheets in his backpack. Don got his car keys and they walked outside. Charlie sat in the passenger side in silence while Don drove them to Charlie's house.

Alan greeted them when they walked inside. "Hi, how are things going?" Alan asked.

"The case is going slowly." Don said.

Alan nodded. "Well, you'll figure it out. Both of you are in time. My biscuits are almost done." Alan said eagerly.

Charlie sat down at the table and pulled out his pile of homework from his students. He began correcting as Don flipped through another file. "Oh no Lucy! That's the easiest question!" Charlie muttered as he put an X on the question.

Don looked over at the paper. It was far too advanced for him. Don had never been good at math. Don frowned as he went back to reading his file. "It's like this guy is killing people at random!" Don said frustrated throwing the folder on the table.

"Mathematically, there's no such thing as random. There's always a random connection, but it's not just random." Charlie said as he corrected more papers.

"The age range is 2 years old to 52 years old. It's no specific gender. No specific race. The victims don't have anything in common…" Don said shaking his head.

Alan put the biscuits on the table. "Could the two of you please stop working for a minute to eat?" Alan asked cutting Don off.

Don put his file back in his briefcase and set the briefcase on the floor. Charlie put his papers in a pile and set them aside. The three Epps men began to make small talk about random things. "This person is selecting random people, kidnapping them and then shooting the person and throwing them off roofs." Don said.

"I've been trying to figure out the connection. I think I'm close." Charlie said.

"You said that two weeks ago." Don said wearily.

Charlie looked a little discouraged. "Yes, but I think I really am closer this time." Charlie said.

Alan could sense a fight from a mile away. Right now he sensed one coming on. "How's Larry?" Alan asked attempting to change the subject.

"He's fine." Charlie said shortly poking at his peas.

Don's cell phone rang. Don answered it in a millisecond. "Epps," Don answered. "…Okay…Thanks…I'll be right there."

Don gathered his briefcase and coat. "There's been another killing." Don said heavily. "Another _random_ killing."


	2. Age

Chapter 2

Age

"Wait! If I come with you I can collect more data…" Charlie began.

Don nodded. Charlie followed Don outside and into Don's car. Don drove them to a fairly crowded street. Charlie turned away when he saw the person who looked like scrambled eggs on a sidewalk. "The victim is twenty eight year old Lori Reed." Megan said quickly.

Megan was holding a file. "Is that her file?" Charlie asked.

Megan looked at in for a moment and then shook her head. "Yes it is. I'm just a little off today." Megan said handing Charlie the file.

Charlie shook his head. "How could I have missed it?" Charlie asked.

"Miss what?" Don asked.

Charlie got excited. "There's a pattern. The first victim was male. The second was female and so forth. The first male victim was in his twenties. The first female victim was in her teens. The second male victim was in his thirties. The second female victim was two years old. The third male victim was in his forties. The third female victim was in her thirties. The fourth male victim was in his fifties. The fourth female victim was in her forties. It's a pattern!" Charlie said.

"Even so, it's unpredictable. Lori is the fifth female. She's in her twenties. Shouldn't she be in her fifties?" Don asked.

Charlie was silent. "Not unless he's backing tracking. With the females, he started in the twenties and went younger and then went older. The next female victim will be in her teens. The next male victim will be in his sixties." Charlie said.

Meg shook her head. "There has to be something more." Meg said. "There has to be something that connects them."

Charlie nodded. "There is, but it's complicated. The pattern is based on age. Our health is something we worry about based on our age." Charlie muttered as he read Lori's file. "Check to see if they have the same doctor or health care provider."

"That makes no sense Charlie." Don said.

Charlie nodded eagerly. "It does! Math isn't just formulas and equations. It's logic. That's what this is Don! Logic!" Charlie said quickly.

Don sighed. "I'll call, but I doubt anything will come out of it." Don said getting out his cell phone.

Don hung up the cell phone. "We're going to the F.B.I building." Don said.


	3. New Victim

Chapter 3

Next Victim

"I'm afraid we have a new victim." David said handing Don a file as he walked through the door.

Don shook his head as he read the file. "This is crazy!" Don said frustrated.

Charlie looked at the file. "No, this isn't right. Something's wrong." Charlie said as he quickly took off with the file.

David looked at Don. "What is it?" David asked.

Don shrugged. "How should I know?" Don asked looking through another file.

"Do you want to get the file back?" David asked.

Don shook his head. "Nah, let's let Charlie look at it for a while." Don said.

Megan walked into the room quickly. "Hey, Charlie was right. All the victims have the same health provider, Healthily Health." Megan said.

Charlie walked back into the room. He put the file on Don's desk. "This victim was seventy. The victim was a male. Where's the victim in their sixties?" Charlie asked. "I think the killer was scared or acted on impulse when he killed this man."

Don nodded. "Okay, so how can we predict the next killing?" Don asked.

Charlie looked into his brother's eyes. "We can't." Charlie said gravely.

A/N- First, I'm sorry I took so long to update. I've been extremely busy. Second, I'm sorry this chapter is so short. Hopefully, I'll get some time to write longer chapters and get them to you quicker. Thanks for reading!


	4. Honor

Chapter 4

Honor

"We're dealing with an unpredictable psychopath. Wonderful." Don muttered angrily.

Megan raced over to Don. "I just got off the phone with a 911 operator. We've got a girl, age four, who's been abducted." Megan said excitedly.

"What does this have to do with our case?" David asked.

"The man is on a rooftop holding a gun to her head." Megan said.

"So? It could just be a hostage situation." Don said quietly.

Megan smiled. "Ten bucks says it isn't." Megan said firmly.

Don nodded. He sighed deeply. "Let's go." Don said.

Charlie looked at them. "What about me? I don't have my car…" Charlie began.

"Come with me. Stay in the car and after this is over, I'll take you back to Cal-Sci." Don said quickly. "Let's hurry it up people!"

Don ran out of the office building and jumped into his car. Charlie followed Don's suit. Megan, Colby and David all ran to their cars. Within minutes, Don's car came to a screeching halt in front of a large building.

A large man was standing on top of the building holding a gun to the small girl's head. Don got his gear on silently. "I'm going up." Don said to David and Megan.

Don looked at Charlie. He kept the engine running. "Lock the doors and get into the driver's seat. If you hear gunfire, get out of here. Got it?" Don said sternly.

Charlie nodded. He watched his brother run on a fire escape to the top of the roof. Charlie didn't know what happened next. All he saw was Don grabbing the girl out of the man's grasp and a loud bang exploded. Charlie saw Don fly and hit the ground. Charlie knew he was supposed drive away, but he couldn't. Charlie ran outside. He ran up the fire escape.

Charlie saw David and Colby wrestling the large man on the ground. Megan was comforting the young girl. Don was laying on the ground. He wasn't moving. "Don! Don!" Charlie shouted running to his brother's side.

Charlie knelt beside his brother. "Don!" Charlie cried despairingly.

Don stirred. "Charlie, I told you to wait in the car." Don mumbled.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked.

Don got up. "Yeah, the vest took the shot." Don said shakily.

Charlie helped Don to his feet. Don took off the vest. He stared at where the bullet was lodged. It was right where his heart was.

----Two Weeks Later----

"And it is my great pleasure to give this award to a person who has gone beyond the call of duty. This person has taken a bullet all for a small child in which he saved. I present this award to Mr. Donald Epps."

The End

Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs.

A/N- I hope you liked this story. I'm sorry about how awful it sounds, but I had terrible writers block which also was the reason why it took so long.

Kylie Anderson


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